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Sufferings are Inescapable Part of Life

Sufferings are Inescapable Part of Life

Suffering is not only a inscapable part of life, but an essential component to make us “LEARN LIFE.” It not only makes us strong to face similar difficulties in future but also adds more to our experiences. So we must find “permanent solutions for temporary problems; and not temporary solutions for the permanent problems.”

NO ONE wants suffering, but we get our share anyway. Sufferings are part of destiny in life! In absence of sufferings... life becomes monotonous and dull! We always do not succeed in life... we have our part of failures! Success and sufferings are two sides of the same coin. An optimist perceives glass half full where as for a pessimist... the glass is half empty! Situation remaining the same... it is only the difference in perception that makes one suffer or succeed in life! Sufferings play a large role in appreciating life by giving people a reason to make the most of the time, things, and relationships they have, while they have them. Seeing how quickly suffering can strike and change lives, makes people realize just how precious life is.

Suffering touches all of our lives at one point or another. Suffering/adversity or bad times are a part of life. No one can escape them. No one is all-time favorite of God. No one can have sunshine, and no dark, dismal clouds. Adversity should, however, not to be considered a misfortune; rather, it should be taken as a blessing because it can open doors to God. When adversity or misfortune strikes and we can not cope with it, we invariably seek refuse in religion—for religion acts as a balm on the wounds of the worldly. It brings strength, comfort and satisfaction in suffering. Without suffering, we would not have many of the religions and faiths that we see in the world today. This is because many times when people suffer, they question, "why is this happening to me" and find comfort in a religious group whose beliefs give them they answer they are looking for.

Why we should try to escape from situations that are not to our liking? Shouldn’t we learn to function in all kinds of situations? We ought to live life in its multi-dimensionality and accept all kinds of challenges. Life is the greatest adventure there is. It is a call and a challenge to all those who have the courage, guts and intelligence. It is certainly not for cowards. Men of courage do not wait for circumstances to turn favorable; they make them favorable. Lack of action leads to premature fossilization; regression sets in and we sink more and more into the quagmire of hopelessness. To halt this sinking, we must tap our latent sources of energy.

"The world is full of suffering, but it is also full of people overcoming it". --- Helen Keller

Sikhism believes that it is not God, but ones own actions which are responsible for ones suffering. A person can change his life and the effects of his karma by living a virtuous life and performing good deeds. Guru Nanak had said,“No amount ofritualismand superficial chanting ofmantras would help him, but only grace of God,which comes to a devotee through pure devotion and complete submission to His name and work”. Purification through suffering leads one nearer to redemption. We require no outside help to achieve this purpose. The power lies embedded right within us. It is in our subconscious. The sooner we learn to take responsibility for how we respond to events and turn them into positive use of energy, the less we will suffer.

Lord Buddha said that no human being can escape suffering in this world. Suffering is inevitable. The Buddha taught that for suffering to cease, you must first renounce it. In the Buddhist view renunciation has to do with renunciation of suffering that comes from afflictive emotions which in turn arise from a deluded view of the nature of ultimate reality.

We compound our misery while trying to reason out the cause of suffering which is inevitable. Why me, we ask. What did I do to deserve this punishment? Why this incurable disease? Why did natural catastrophe come upon us? Why has my loved one departed from this world? Where is God? Such questions lead to fretting and fuming. One has to learn to ask oneself the ‘how’—how must I face this problem, tragedy or sickness. According to Swami Satyananda Saraswati;there are people who do not like suffering, therefore they feel it more. There are those who enjoy suffering, thereby they are able to increase their tolerance and will. This is well illustrated in When BadThings Happen to Good People by Henry Kushner.

Jesus had different perception of suffering. He went beyond the concept of physical pain. Suffering for him became medium. While speaking about suffering, Jesus refers to mother in labour pain. Upon seeing her offspring, the mother is filled with bliss. She is oblivious to the agony she has gone through just a few moments ago. For her the pain was not only inevitable but necessary. Suffering is a necessary medium for happiness.

In one of thesutra, the 16th of the second chapter of Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Patanjali says: “Heyam duhkam anagatam.” It means that the pains, which are yet to come, can be avoided. Through the above sutra, Patanjali tell- us past pain is thing of the past, and discrimination will guide present and future actions. The pain can be prevented by adherence to the yogic disciple.

We are unhappy because we are afflicted with adversity. The fact is that the greatest affliction of life is never to be afflicted! It is like threshing which separates the wheat from the chaff. Affliction purifies and strengthens us. He, who wrestles with you, strengthens your muscles.

Man himself creates his own suffering. Why should man who desires happiness create suffering? The answer, simply put, is—because suffering is necessary. To understand and appreciate light, we need to experience darkness. To evaluate beauty, we need to contact ugliness. Similarly, to experience the supreme and sublime bliss of Nirvana,we need to experience the sorrow and suffering of material existence. That is why we create suffering for ourselves. We create suffering by the force of desires, and we create happiness by the force of aspirations. Because we ourselves create our own suffering we alone can overcome it. We require knowledge to fight lust with compassion, to overcome anger by patience, and to defeat greed by developing generosity. Thus is misery ended, thus suffering is vanquished, and the Light of Joy burns steadfastly in our hearts. This practice is necessary for everyone.

We ought not to forget that suffering teaches empathy, tolerance and patience. It yields benefits when taken in the right spirit. S.Sehegal, in “The Path to Spiritual Healing”,has illustrated this with a beautiful example. When there is heavy storm, and if you look at the top of the tree with swinging branches, you might feel that it would fall. But if you look below at its strong and unsakeable trunck, you get a different picture. That is it. It all depends how you look at things—the bright or the shady aspect. Both exist simultneously and one has option to choose. A little bit of understanding and philosopical approach makes it easier.